ARSENAL SET SIGHTS ON LUKAKU SWITCH

The Toffees have offered Lukaku a new deal, and while the player says he’ll give the Toffees the courtesy of listening, he is likely to ask for a move elsewhere, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, PSG and Juventus all linked with his signature.

However, TuttoMercatoWeb claim the Gunners have joined the race to land the 23-year-old hitman and have opened talks over a £60million deal with Everton.

LIVERPOOL AND MAN CITY JOIN RACE FOR TOWNSEND

Liverpool and Manchester City have joined Crystal Palace, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom in expressing interest in Andros Townsend.

The Daily Telegraphclaims the £10.5million release clause in the England winger’s contract has alerted both clubs and they are now weighing up whether to make a surprise bid for the winger.

Liverpool and City could be added to the list of Townsend’s possible destinations, particularly if they fail to land more expensive targets such as Saido Mane and Leroy Sane.

Despite missing out on Roy Hodgson’s final 23-man squad for the European Championships, former Tottenham Hotspur wide man Townsend has become one of the most sought-after English players of the summer.

His impressive form for Newcastle, together with a release clause in the region of £10.5million, has made him an attractive proposition for a host of clubs – including Liverpool and City.

Liverpool academy director Alex Inglethorpe knows Townsend well from his time on the coaching staff at Spurs and the player’s name has been put forward as a potential signing as the club weighs up a number of attacking targets.

Manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to add more pace to his attack and has already looked at Southampton’s Saido Mane, Schalke’s Leroy Sane and Arsenal’s Theo Walcott.

All three of those players would be far more expensive than Townsend. Southampton would demand at least £30m for Mane, while Manchester City are reported to have made a bid worth around £40m for Sane but face competition from Bayern Munich.

Schalke are due to discuss Sane’s situation on Wednesday, meaning City may well know whether or not they are likely to land the 20-year-old.

Bayern are believed to be willing to allow the player to stay at Schalke for another season before signing him next summer.

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, ex-Ajax head coach Frank de Boer and Andre Villas-Boas are in contention for the vacant AC Milan job (Gazetta dello Sport)

Swansea are ready to offer midfielder Leon Britton and full-back Angel Rangel, both 33, new contracts as they look to retain two of the senior figures in Francesco Guidolin’s squad (South Wales Evening Post)

Laurent Blanc will leave Paris Saint-Germain by the end of the week, says his agent (The Guardian)

Burnley are yet to receive any bids for defender Michael Keane, 23, with Premier League champions Leicester and Everton interested in the player (Burnley Express)

AC Milan striker Fernando Torres, 32, is to sign a one-year deal with Atletico Madrid, where the Spaniard spent last year on loan from the Serie A side (Marca)